


When Canon Isn't Canon At All.

by Geektaire



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Canon Rewrite, F/M, Season/Series 08
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-05
Updated: 2018-05-04
Packaged: 2019-05-02 10:12:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14542461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Geektaire/pseuds/Geektaire
Summary: Season Eight episode rewrites.Two episode rewrites not related to each other for two of season eight episodes.Chapter 1: Episode 14 . Still Gonna Mean SomethingChapter 2: Episode 16. Wrath





	1. Always Gonna Mean Something

She was upset. She was upset by whatever the asshole troll king had said to her and yet something in him wouldn’t allow him to get his ass off the tailgate of the old pick up truck he was using as a bench while sharpening his bolts, and go to her.

 

She was suffering, and he was too much of a pussy to reach out to her.

 

He had been frantic the night before, when he’d heard her yelling from the back room, only to find her covered in Tobin’s blood. Trembling slightly as the body of her former paramour - a word he’d learned from one of her own romance novels stashed in their shared cell back in the prison - laid at her feet unmoving, him being the only one to notice and  reach out to make sure she was physically okay. Because Carol couldn’t not be okay, it was the general consensus hence no one ever checked on her. 

 

But she wasn’t okay. And in the middle of the whole mess, he hadn’t had the balls to go and reach out to her. Yet the fucking King had. The man had approached her and left her looking even more miserable than she had been before their talk. 

 

Not that he had any right to throw stones … he was a coward and did nothing. 

 

“Hey.” Tara’s voice brought Daryl out of his own inner musings, his attention shifting away from Carol’s pain and into the problem at hand. Dwight. 

 

The blond asshole was getting a pass from Tara, and as much as it pained him to actually even think about it, she was right. He had been ready to give the man a chance before Dwight ended up joining his former peers as a way to save them all the other day … and now Tara was the only one to live from those  injured during the attack? It was too much not to be because of the asshole he had tried to help what felt like years before. 

 

The one good thing was, Tara apparently was going to make it. They couldn’t bear to lose anyone else so soon, especially just after losing Carl. A loss he hadn’t had a chance to talk about with Carol, a loss he knew was hitting her as hard as it was him. 

 

Carl had been one of the last few people who’d been with them since the beginning, in reality it had just been Carl, Carol, and him ever since Glenn had been murdered by Negan. And now it was only Carol and him. Sure thing, Rick had been with them since the Quarry, but they had all - Carl, Glenn, Carol, and him - known each other for a couple of weeks before Rick had arrived to turn their would around. 

 

Before he lost Merle for the first time. Amy, Jim, Jacqui ... Sophia. The one promise he had broken to Carol, the one lie he had ever told her before the night at her place outside the kingdom. He had told her more than once he would bring  her little girl back, and he hadn’t. Carol had lost the most important person in her life, and he hadn’t been able to do anything other than lie to her and raise her hopes only to have them crushed. 

 

A year and a half give or take, a year and a half had been the time Carol had been forced to live without her little girl so far. It was the time she’d had to grieve - mostly in silence because she would never allow others to see her suffering. But once upon a time she had let him in, and then he had been a twat and locked her out … and she had done the exact same thing to him. There was this barrier, a barrier keeping them safe but at the same time keeping them apart. 

 

And it had been all his fault. 

 

So when everyone had gone in to eat their meager rations, and she had stayed outside to continue chopping wood, he’d stayed. Watching from afar like the creep he was. From afar like he was something more than a guy she used to be close to. Like he would be able to spare her any of the pain the lives they led brought upon them. But he had told her once - in the dead of the night while only they remained awake - he would always have her back … they might not be the same people as back then, but he had already broken one promise … he was not breaking another one. 

 

“Hey!” Daryl winced as he jumped from the tailgate and trotted down to where Carol and Morgan were both looking at him like they had no idea he had been there all along. “Where you going?”

 

“Daryl,” Carol sighed, his name on her lips making his heart skip a beat. “I’m going with Morgan - “ They both turned to look at the other man whose gaze looked lost. “Henry …”

 

“We’re going after them, all of them,” Morgan muttered as he started walking towards the gates, not waiting to see if they were following. 

 

Carol just shook her head at Daryl when he raised his eyebrows, trotting down to follow Morgan as he yelled at Kal to open the gates. There was no thinking about it, there was no time. 

 

The doors closed behind Daryl as he followed silently behind Carol, letting her lead the way. They were both looking for something, for someone, and Daryl was sure as hell not going to let them get killed while on their search. 

 

Not saying either Carol or Morgan weren’t capable fighters, because they were. But if Henry was who Daryl thought he was  - the little kid with a murder glare who reminded him of Carl - his biggest concern wasn’t their physical safety. He had sworn to himself to protect Carol from suffering the pain of Sophia’s loss again, and he had failed again and again. 

 

Maybe this one time, he could do something. He could at least be there for her if they did find the little shit. She was the strongest person he had ever known, but it didn’t mean she had to carry all of her grief and burden on her shoulders alone. She had carried it for him, and now it was partly his turn. 

 

“So … Henry?” Daryl asked softly almost an hour later, as they were following the tracks of the men who had escaped during the night left on the side of the road. Morgan had been silent through their search, and Carol had followed his lead. Daryl wasn’t the most chatty of people, but honestly the tension was making him even more fidgety than usual.  

 

Carol gave him a look which told him what she wasn’t saying. She didn’t want to talk about the kid, she just wanted to search in silence while she built her walls for what she was already preparing herself the ending would be. The way she was handling herself, as if she was waiting for a blow, told him what he needed to know. 

 

She wasn’t looking for the boy, because in her head, the boy was as dead as Sophia had been from the first moment she’d been left alone in the woods. 

 

Daryl’s heart broke at the implications of her being out there. She was trying to find the boy to give him a proper burial. She was out there looking for the boy because she hadn’t been able to go out there to look for her own daughter. It wasn’t about finding him alive - since she had already made up her mind that he wasn’t - it was about doing for him what she hadn’t been able to do for Sophia. 

 

Even if she denied it - which he was sure she would if Daryl ever got her to talk to him - he just knew. Carol hadn’t been strong enough back then - back at the farm - to go out in the wild and look for her kid, so he had been strong enough for both of them. 

 

Carol might not be strong enough to hope for the kid’s safety this time around, but he was strong enough to hope for both of them. 

 

“They stayed around here,” Daryl murmured as he pushed past the unfocused Morgan to look at some broken leaves. “It’s the most logical thing, to stay close to the road but not too close.”

 

“Daryl?” Carol called him over from a little further ahead, the tail of a turnip in her hand. 

 

“Seems like we’re on the right track.” The small smile she gave him made his heart flutter. He wanted to hold her in his arms, reassure her they would find the missing little shit … but he couldn’t do it. He had given her unfounded hope once, he was never going to do it again. 

 

“What is it?” Morgan’s gruff voice broke the spell, Carol’s slight smile turning into a frown. 

 

“A turnip … a half eaten one-”

 

“Henry?” 

 

Daryl turned quickly on his feet as he saw Morgan looking at something behind them, bow raised only for nothing to be there. 

 

“Henry?!”

 

“What the -”

 

“Henry!”

 

“Is he seeing things?” Daryl asked Carol, the two of them running off after Morgan as he followed something only he was privy to. “Is he fucking losing it?”

 

Carol shushed him, grabbing his forearm as they came to a stop behind Morgan, just as the man started to sway slightly from side to side. He was clearly focusing on something only he was able to see, shaking his head as he started muttering to himself before raising his voice out loud. 

 

“He’s not here. You’re not here. You’re not here!” 

 

It wasn’t even like he was any danger to the two of them, it was just a reflex as Daryl moved to stand partially in front of Carol, bow ready in case things turned south. 

 

“You weren’t supposed to be there!” Morgan screamed at the ghost of who Daryl could only guess was Henry. “You weren’t. You -” Morgan swallowed before looking back at them, his eyes fixing on Carol. 

 

It seemed like the moment his eyes met Carol’s, he was able to come back from wherever he had been. His breathing slowed down, as he nodded a couple of times to himself before directing his words to Carol and Carol alone. “He’s dead. You know he is.”

 

Daryl sighed, head down as he closed his eyes feeling as Carol moved past him to stand in front of Morgan. 

 

“I didn’t come out here to look for him.” She made a pause to give Daryl a small look. “I came out here to keep an eye on you.”

 

He knew she had lost hope, but Daryl hadn’t known how much it would hurt to hear her admit it. The kid had to be alive, he just had to. He didn’t care who Henry was to her, Carol cared for him. And based just on that, it meant Daryl would do anything in his power to help find him. Alive, dead, or undead. The fact Carol was more concerned about Morgan than about the kid said a lot of what she had gone through, a lot about what the two people in front of him had gone through together. 

 

“Yeah,” Morgan murmured. “I’ve seen it. I’ve seen you save people again and again.” Daryl had seen it too, many times. He had seen it back in the CDC when she’d saved all of them; he had seen it at the farm when she had saved him from himself … he had seen it time and again . “But you can’t save the dead, Carol.”

 

“You ain’t dead,” Daryl grumbled. 

 

“I know,” Morgan gave them both a sad look. “Not me. I don’t die. I just see.” His voice broke at the last part, making Daryl want to reach out and touch Carol just to make sure she was alright. “Again and again. Again and again.”

 

“Even when I look away, I still see it.” They had all seen so much, lived through so much. And in a way, Daryl wasn’t surprised Morgan was having a hard time getting his head together. Hell, he knew most of them were barely sane by now. 

 

The moment Morgan started walking right at Carol, he couldn’t help but pull her against him away from the unseeing eyes of their friend as he stalked past her back towards where the trail was originally leading them. 

 

They were back on track for the moment, following Morgan as he muttered low his findings when they started to track once more. The man needed help, but didn’t they all? 

 

“You alright?” Daryl murmured softly only for Carol’s ears as Morgan’s pace started to quicken. 

 

“Gotta be.”

 

It was a good enough answer … for now. They always  _ had  _ to be alright, there was always something to do, someone to fight. There was never time to just be, and Daryl knew somehow it was part of that sentiment which had sent Carol away from them. 

 

She wasn’t alright. But neither was he. Nor was Rick, Michonne, or Maggie. But they had to be there for each other, or they would just vanish … just like Morgan was disappearing in front of their own eyes. 

 

They continued on their manhunt, spreading once they realized the prisoners had taken to walking on the actual road, to look for any kind of clues in case they’d left it at any given time. 

 

He had left enough space that when Carol and Morgan stopped as they looked over a herd, it took him some time to catch up. The look on Carol’s face as he looked up at him, just as Morgan walked away from her with a second stick on his hand, made his chest hurt. 

 

“That’s Henry’s stick,” Carol said softly, her eyes watery as she stared at Morgan’s retreating back. “The walker …” she stopped for a moment, taking a breath as if she was trying to calm herself down. “It came from the other road…”

 

“On it,” Daryl murmured, allowing himself to softly caress the back of her arm as he walked past her to search for clues from where the walker had really come from. 

 

He could hear Carol talking with Morgan, her voice becoming an incomprensible lull the further away he got from the two of them; while always looking over his shoulder to check they were safe. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Carol to be strong enough to protect herself … he just didn’t trust Morgan around her. There was something telling him the man had control issues and wouldn’t exactly be in his right mind to stop. 

 

The trail the walker had left was just enough for them to follow. A well known whistle made Carol glance away from Morgan to see Daryl signaling to her where he’d picked up fresh tracks. 

 

He was far enough away not to hear what they were saying, but he didn’t need to listen to know it was hurting Carol. He didn’t need to be a genius to know Morgan had given up on the kid when she turned her back on Morgan to make her way slowly towards him. 

 

Carol’s beautiful blue eyes were red-rimmed, her cheeks still wet with tears. But there was something in her eyes Daryl hadn’t seen in a long time, something he hadn’t seen when they had started their trek that  morning … she had hope sparkling in her eyes. Even if she tried to deny it, finding the boy’s stick had made her hope. 

 

He wanted to draw her into his arms, he wanted to give her some kind of support. But he couldn’t, he didn’t know how. The closest thing he could do was softly bump her shoulder with his as they started walking together following the trail he had found. 

 

“Who is he?” Daryl asked after a few minutes of silence between them. “Henry?”

 

“His brother was part of Ezekiel’s guard, he was a sweet kid who got killed way too soon.”

 

“Hmmm,” Daryl agreed, knowing her mind was going to the other sweet kid who had been killed way too soon. Carl Grimes was supposed to be their future, and yet they’d ended up burying him. Nothing in this world was fair, least of all the life kids had to live. 

 

“Henry got obsessed with revenge. He … “

 

“Reminds you of Carl?” Their steps were in sync as they left the road and started moving further inside the woods once again. “The steely-eyed glare and thinking he’s more mature than he actually is?”

 

Carol nodded. “He offered to help me. I told him more than once to stay back and let us handle it.”

 

“Like that works so well with Ca-” 

 

Daryl cut himself off when he realized what he was saying. The permanent knot at the back of his throat felt a little tighter as he tried to clear his throat to stop the tears threatening to make an appearance. 

 

“I haven’t been able to read the letter he left me,” Carol said softly as she allowed her fingers to touch Daryl’s hand as they continued walking side by side. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to.”

 

Daryl nodded, giving her a sad smile as he entwined their pinkies for a moment before he let them drop. He hadn’t gotten a letter, but he wasn’t really surprised. Him and Carl had always understood each other, and he wasn’t a man of many words. He was glad Carol had gotten one, knowing how important the boy had been to her. To them all. 

 

“Henry …” Carol sighed, pushing a tree limb away to pass. “He was not a bad kid, he’s just hurting.” She was talking about the boy in a combination of past and present, like even her own mind was not willing to decide what to think about the boy’s fate. “Ezekiel  took over his care after his brother died, but he’s just having a hard time getting through to him.”

 

“Where’s Ezekiel?” Daryl asked after a moment. “Shouldn’t he be out here looking for the kid?”

 

The kid. As if calling Henry by other than his name would cause it to hurt any less should they find him dead. Sophia, Beth, Carol’s girls, Noah, Sam … Carl. They all had names, and they all had left scars on their hearts which they would always carry with them. Sophia and Carl most of them all. Sophia over all of them. 

 

“I don’t know,” Carol murmured, her shoulders tensing at the mention of the king. 

 

“I’m just saying,” Daryl grumbled as he stepped over a fallen log. “If it’s his kid, why the fuck isn’t he out here looking for him?”

 

Her silence said more to him than anything else could. 

 

“Did he send you out here to look for him? Was that what he said to you this morning?” Daryl realized his mistake as soon as he finished asking the question. 

 

“Ezekiel has his reasons, as I do mine.”

 

“It’s bullshit. He’s just a pussy.”

 

“Oh, Daryl.” 

 

“He is what he is.”

 

Carol’s chuckle caused him to snort. It had been a while since they had been allowed to spend as much time together as they had, he couldn’t really remember the last time he had been able to be in her presence as long as he had today. 

 

“I’m glad you came with me, Pookie.”

 

Daryl chuckled, feeling as his cheeks started to redden. It was strange, how just a few hours in her presence could help him feel like himself; something nothing else - and no one else - was able to do. With her he felt like the old Daryl, like the Daryl who wasn’t putting up a front with anger, trying to hide how scared he really was. He felt like  _ her  _ Daryl. 

 

Night had fallen upon them, and with Carol’s flashlight and the moon as their only sources of light searching for a trail was becoming harder. They should have made camp, but neither of them wanted to waste another minute. Whatever they were to find, they wanted to find it as soon as possible. 

 

“He called me a coward,” Carol said breaking the silence as she flashed her light down their small path. “Ezekiel called me a coward for not coming out here to look for Henry.”

 

“Son of a bitch.”

 

“He doesn’t know about Sophia … or the girls.”

 

“That pussy ass son of a bitch has no right to call you - of all people - a coward.”

 

“Daryl,” she admonished, though not because she disagreed.

 

“I’m gonna fucking bash his face when we get back home.”

 

“Daryl.”

 

“He’s a fuck-”

 

“Daryl! Shut up!”

 

“Help! Help!” 

 

Without waiting a second more, the two of them took off running through the woods. Carol’s meager light barely letting them see enough to not break their necks, their need to reach the boy calling for help being the force driving them to jumping down the steep ravine to face the three walkers trying to reach for the boy. 

 

In the end, it was easier than any of them expected. With Daryl taking care of two of the walkers, and Carol the remaining one; the boy was in her arms begging for her forgiveness before the dead walkers hit the water. 

 

Daryl’s heart was still beating madly in his chest while he watched Carol and the kid sob all over each other. The vision of how something exactly like what he was seeing could have easily been Carol and Sophia trying to play games with his head. 

 

Henry just continued to cry into Carol’s arms as he asked for forgiveness again and again, in a way making even Daryl’s hardened heart start to soften. Not that he was any less unlikely to give the kid a talk down once he was calmer, but even he could feel his eyes stinging with unshed tears. 

 

“I’m sorry,” Henry kept muttering as he clutched at Carol, his small hands trying to hug her as close as he could. “I’m so sorry.”

 

“It’s okay,” Carol answered, one of her hands clutching the boy to her while the other moved to caress the back of Henry’s blond hair. “I’m sorry too.”

 

Daryl allowed them the moment, the realization of what they had done just reaching his conscious mind. They had found the missing kid. They had been able to do right this time around. He had been able to help Carol get it right this time. 

 

“Are you hurt, kid?” Daryl murmured after giving the mother without a child, and the orphan boy another moment to whisper their regrets to each other. Henry finally pushed back from Carol’s arms, realizing for the first time they weren’t alone. 

 

“No, sir,” Henry answered, his voice barely above a whisper as he wiped the tears from his cheeks. 

 

“Pffft, name’s Daryl.”

 

“I’m Henry.”

 

“I know.”

 

Carol gave a teary chuckle which made Daryl’s mouth curve into a small smile. “Ready to get back home?”

 

Carol nodded as she got back on her feet, Henry’s hand clutched tightly in hers. “Yeah.”

 

“Good … we dropped all of our gear when we heard this little shit yelling for help.”

 

“Daryl!”

 

“We did!”

 

The boy’s giggle made any kind of anger in Carol’s face at his careless words melt away. The look on her face as he looked down from the top of the ravine was more peaceful than he had seen in a really long time. Probably since the prison. 

 

Carol had lived through something he didn’t even want to imagine when they were separated after the Governor had attacked the prison. After Rick had left her behind like a stray dog he didn’t find any more use for. He loved his friend, but a part of him would never forget his transgression. Especially since he was sure whatever had happened to Carol when they were apart had injured her so deeply she was barely now able to begin healing. After they had found another kid she was already feeling she had let down. 

 

At least this one they had actually found alive and relatively safe. 

 

Daryl took point, letting Carol and Henry trail slowly behind him. It was going to take them a good while to get back to the Hilltop. Especially at night. But there was no rush now. They had all the time of the world. 

 

And that’s exactly how he found himself giving a piggyback ride to an extremely sleepy eleven year old while Carol walked next to them, his crossbow on her back. 

 

“Thank you for coming out here with me,” Carol said softly after she saw him shrugging the now sleeping boy higher for the millionth time. 

 

“Carol …”

 

“I needed to know. I was sure he was weak, like all the others.” Who the others were went without saying … so many lost kids. “And after Mika and L-” 

 

He waited for her to continue after she had abruptly stopped, giving her the time she needed to get her ideas together. 

 

“After I lost them, I told myself I couldn’t allow myself to care for another kid, or for anyone for that matter.”

 

Daryl hummed in agreement, shooting her a sad smile. 

 

“Then we met Sam, and he was not ready for what’s out here … Henry, I think he’s strong enough. I think I’m strong enough.”

 

“You’ve always been strong enough.”

 

Carol scoffed at Daryl’s words. “Ezekiel was right, I was being a coward. I had been preaching to him about courage and I was too scared of caring for a little kid who needed someone looking out for him.”

 

“Fuck Ezekiel,” Daryl growled. “He doesn’t get to say that, he doesn’t know you. You’re the strongest person I know, you’ve lost so much …” Daryl scoffed when Carol looked slightly startled. “Thought I wouldn't notice? He went and called you a coward but yet … where is he?”

 

Carol sighed, her eyes dropping to the ground as they continued to walk. 

 

“You’re afraid, but it doesn’t make you a coward. You’ve been hurting so much for so long, on your own … he doesn’t get to make you feel like that.”

 

“You’ve been hurting too, do you think I don’t see it?” Carol said, stopping and making him stop too with a hand on his arm. “And you’re not talking to anyone about it ...“

 

“Like you did?”

 

Carol closed her eyes, feeling as if the fight was leaving her at once. He was right after all. She was accusing him of keeping everything bottled up when she had done the exact same thing. 

 

“You told me once I had to let myself feel it … I think you did too. But you kept everything so closed off that when you finally did, it was too much for one person to handle it. Even someone as strong as you are.”

 

“You do know how to make a girl feel special, Pookie,” Carol smiled wiping the tears which had started to run down her cheeks. 

 

“That’s because you are.” His voice was so soft Carol couldn’t do anything but look up at him, the tenderness in his face making her chest ache. 

 

“You’re pretty darn special as well,” Carol whispered as she moved to caress Daryl’s cheek, loving how there was no trace of a flinch when she did so. “And just know whenever you’re ready to talk about what happened to you? About why you’re so angry all of the time … I’m here for you.”

 

Daryl nodded, closing his eyes and allowing himself to enjoy the feeling of her hand on his cheek. It had always been her touch, even when he was barely allowing anyone to get close to him, her touch had been a relief for him. Especially now, after what had happened at the Sanctuary, a simple touch from her hand felt like heaven in his mind. 

 

“No more running?”

 

“No more grunting and pushing people away?” Carol answered Daryl’s question with one of her own. 

 

Daryl scoffed. “Only you though.”

 

“Good enough for me.”

 

“No running?” Daryl asked again as he hitched Henry higher on his back again as he started walking slowly once more. 

 

“Only to you, Pookie.”

 

“Stop.”

 

“Never.”

 

“Are we there yet?” The sleepy voice of Henry startled them, for a moment having forgotten they had not in fact been alone. 

 

“Not yet, sweetheart. Do you think you could walk to give Daryl a break?” The kid wasn’t as young as Judith was, but the moment he had seemed ready to drop on his feet, something in Daryl had prompted him to offer himself as a pack mule. 

 

Apparently, the mumbled answer had been positive because soon Daryl felt as the boy wiggled down from his back. 

 

“He’s not as young as he used to be. He might not say it, but he’s gonna be complaining of his bad back for a long time.”

 

“I do not complain,” Daryl grumbled as he accepted his crossbow back from Carol as the kid moved to her side like she had grown a limpet. 

 

“He doesn’t, but he’ll keep on grunting and stretching so much I will eventually offer to give him a back rub.”

 

Daryl said nothing, feeling as the tip of his ears started to get warmer. She knew him better than anyone else … much as he liked to think he knew her, the real her, better than anyone else alive in their world. 

 

“I don’t understand men and their need to hide their pain.”

 

“Yeah, well,” Daryl answered, rolling his eyes while raising his crossbow and letting a bolt fly to kill the lone walker shuffling towards them. “It ain’t manly to bitch about what’s hurting.”

 

“Did Merle teach you that?”

 

“Did Merle seem to be the type to not bitch about pain?”

 

“Who’s Merle?”

 

The kid had practically merged himself to Carol’s side so well, Daryl had forgotten for a moment it wasn’t just the two of them. The pain of his brother’s loss had never really gone away, always there catching him when he least expected. 

 

“My brother. He got killed.” Was all Daryl said, not trying to be short with the boy but not really feeling like opening up to someone - who although young - was basically a stranger. Open up more than he had already had. 

 

“I’m sorry,” Henry said looking at Daryl warily from Carol’s side making Daryl feel like shit for making the boy who had just been on his back scared of him. “I lost my brother too.”

 

“Sorry … for your brother.”

 

“Is that why you went to them last night, Henry?” Carol asked softly once both boys had come to an understanding . “Because you thought one of them had been the one to kill Benjamin?”

 

“I know when adults are lying, they think I’m stupid, but I’m not.” He was still hugged to Carol’s side, but his voice was stronger, more decided. “You guys weren’t telling me the truth, so I thought I would be able to get it out of them.”

 

“Alone? That was a dumbass move,” Daryl added, not looking at the kid, knowing he wouldn’t be able to keep his temper if he did. “You put us all in danger.”

 

“I thought I could handle it!”

 

“Henry,” Carol calling his name immediately made the boy back down from his combative stance against Daryl’s words. “Daryl was right. We didn’t tell you because we thought it would keep you safe … and look what happened because you didn’t do as we asked.”

 

“I already said I’m sorry.” The petulant tone to the boy’s voice made Daryl roll his eyes. The need to smack the kid behind the head just served as a reminder of when Carl had made arguments just like his … Carl who had been strong, although in definite need of guidance even at Henry’s age. 

 

“And I know you are.” There was no way anyone could think Carol hadn’t been a mother, she was everything Daryl had ever thought a mom should be … strong, patient, loving. “But it doesn’t mean you didn’t make the wrong decision. If you’re going to survive in the world -” 

 

“Which we’re going to make sure you are.”

 

“You need to think before you jump into those situations.” Carol couldn’t help but smile brightly at Daryl as a thank you for the encouraging words he intersected with hers. He was right, they would make sure Henry made it through the war with Negan and through whatever came next. “You are brave, and you are strong. If you weren’t, you wouldn’t have survived how you did for almost a day … but you’re just a kid.”

 

“We’ll teach you to shoot, and to track in case you ever get lost again, so you can find your way back.” Carol could feel Henry nodding against her as he looked at the side of Daryl’s scowling face. “But you need to learn to follow orders, and to never put your needs before the needs of everyone else.”

 

Daryl wanted to be pissed at the kid for having made him realize how fucking selfish he had been lately. He - just as Carol - apparently had needed the kid to show him a lesson. The needs of their family had to come before his needs of revenge. As much as he hated Negan and Dwight, he had to keep a cool head if he wanted to help keep his family alive. 

 

“I’m sorry I ran away,” Henry said after a beat. “There were walkers chasing me, and I was scared you and Ezekiel were going to be mad at me for letting the prisoners out.”

 

“Oh, great, he’s a fucking runner too,” Daryl murmured, rewarded with a smack on the shoulder from Carol.  He didn’t miss the grin she tried to hide from him, however. 

 

“We were terrified, we thought you were dead.” Henry hung his head at Carol’s words, stumbling in a root slightly before Carol helped him stay upright. “Little kids don’t do well out here on their own.”

 

The ghost of Sophia would always haunt them, there was no other way. 

 

“But you made it. We found you. And I’m sure you’re going to make us want to pull our hair more than once but it’s great because it means you’re alive.” 

 

“Thanks for coming for me,” Henry’s voice was barely above a whisper, but both Carol and Daryl were able to hear him perfectly. 

 

“Just don’t make it a habit.” 

 

Carol couldn’t help but chuckle at Daryl’s grumpy answer as she just hugged Henry closer to her. The idea of the boy being alive and safe was one her brain was still struggling to grasp. After all the loss, after all the pain … there was a bright light in their otherwise pitch dark scenario. They had lost so many in the last few days, but they had been able to recover at least one of those thought lost. “And look at that, we’ve made it home.” 

 

By the sound coming from the wall, their appearance had been noticed by those watching over the camp for the night. The noise was attracting the walkers so they could slip by the barely open gates, before they banged closed behind them. Henry immediately shot off running to an awaiting Ezekiel.

 

“I knew you would do it!” Jerry practically yelled before almost tackling Carol in a hug, not letting the glare from Daryl deter him from his joyous celebration. “I knew you would bring him back.”

 

“You have high hopes for me, Jerry,” Carol said softly as she patted the bigger man’s chest softly. 

 

“Just the right amount,” Jerry answered, grinning before turning to Daryl, arms open as if ready to engulf the hunter in a bear hug. 

 

“I have shit to do,” Daryl grumbled sidestepping the hugging monster and quickly scurrying out of the man’s reach. “Gotta check in with Rick,” he murmured before starting to walk towards the house where almost everyone was staying. 

 

“Your hunter is quite skittish, isn’t he?” Jerry asked pushing Carol teasingly on the shoulder as they watched Daryl walk towards the house. 

 

“Not with me.”

 

“Ha!”

 

It wasn’t until Daryl was a few steps away from Ezekiel that Carol realized her hunter wasn’t one to let go of a grudge. And if she had learned something about Daryl in the years they’d known each other it was that he might not stand up for himself … but he was like a dog with a bone if someone hurt his friends. 

 

And if she was honest with the world - and with herself - they were something more than friends. 

 

Carol had barely taken a couple of steps away from Jerry when Daryl arrived at Ezekiel’s side not saying a word before slamming his fist into the former King’s face dropping him with one punch. 

 

“Daryl!” Carol called as she ran towards where Daryl and Henry both were looking down on a bleeding Ezekiel. “Why did you do that?”

 

“He deserves it,” Daryl growled as he looked down at Ezekiel before crouching down to speak low to him. “You ever make her feel like that again? I will knock your teeth out. She’s too nice to say something, but I’m not.”

 

“I assure you, hunter Daryl,” Ezekiel said as he raised his hand to wipe the blood from his bleeding mouth. “I didn’t meant anything by-”

 

“Fuck off,” Daryl scoffed, before getting to his feet, putting an arm around Carol’s shoulders and pulling her away from the still sprawled royal.  

 

“Were you protecting my honor, Pookie?”

 

“Staph.”

 

And that’s how Daryl found himself later sitting by the fire, the sky close to brightening with a brand new day. With Carol by his side, shoulder to shoulder he watched Ezekiel caress a sleeping Henry’s hair gently as the boy slept. 

 

“Hey,” Daryl said softly as he felt Carol reach and entwine their hands as she rested her head on his shoulder. “You alright?”

 

“Yeah.” He could hear Carol’s smile in her voice as they watched the sun starting to brighten the dark horizon. “I think I actually am. ”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Wrath

“Hey.”

 

Daryl barely raised his eyes from where he was finishing cleaning his rifle, giving Carol the smallest of smiles before returning to his work at hand. 

 

“Now you’re not talking to me?”

 

“Nah, just busy,” Daryl murmured, sighing as he started to reassemble what had essentially became one of his main tools since the world had come to an end. 

 

“Too busy to talk to someone who cares?”

 

“It’s not like that,” Daryl mumbled, his eyes still not meeting Carol’s as she stood in front of him. “Just busy. And I don’t see you talking to no one other than your kingdom buddies.”

 

“Daryl.”

 

“Nah, it’s alright. You’re with them now … ‘s good for ya.”

 

“Daryl.”

 

“We just have to finish this. We finish this and you can go ba-”

 

“Daryl!” Carol’s gentle hand on his made him stop manically wiping his rifle in a continuous fluid motion, his hands white from how hard he was gripping the weapon. “Me helping them doesn’t mean I don’t care for you any longer.”

 

Daryl knew she was talking about you as in  _ them _ , her family, but hearing her say those words while looking at him with her bright blue eyes made his heart feel like it was going to burst out from his chest. “I know,” he said softly, giving her what he hoped was a reassuring smile.

 

“We have to talk,” Carol said softly as she looked down to him, her eyes finally seeing what he had seemed to be hiding from all of them for so long. “After all this is over, we need to talk about what happened.”

 

“Nothing happened.”

 

“I know you, Daryl Dixon.” Her words were so certain - so bold and without a doubt - Daryl felt as if he couldn’t breathe. He was usually never seen, people thought they knew him, but they didn’t  _ know  _ him. But Carol? Carol had always seen the man he could be, even when he himself couldn't. “And I know when you’re hiding things from me.”

 

An awkward pause followed her words, as both of them remembered the last time they’d had enough time to have a proper conversation away from prying eyes. “I knew, you know?” Carol continued not missing a beat. “I knew you were lying, but I wanted to believe you so badly, I just convinced myself everything was alright.

 

“I didn’t mean to lie to ya. I don’t-”

 

“I know,” Carol said, interrupting whatever explanation he was going to try and put into a mess of clumsy words. “Don’t worry, I know.”

 

The sound of Rick’s cowboy boots stomping down the stairs made both of them remember exactly where they were and what they were about to foray into. 

 

“I gotta ...” Daryl said awkwardly as he stood up, having missed how close she had actually been and suddenly finding himself almost chest to chest with her. “Rick…”

 

Carol just smiled, chuckling as she took a step back and watched as he fumbled with his rifle for a moment before scampering away from her. 

 

“Hey Daryl?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Stay safe.”

 

“Nine lives, remember?” 

 

Carol was still smiling as she left the main house at hilltop. It had been a long time since she had last heard those words, almost seemed like a lifetime ago. But as she had told Ezekiel before,  _ that  _ Carol - the Carol from the prison - the one who had been able to talk to Daryl and be playful at times - was still there and slowly she was finding her way back to her family. Back to feeling like herself, the Carol who was able to be there for her family. 

 

The Carol who was able to open up her heart to loving other people again. 

 

One of the main culprits of said opening approached her as soon as she stepped down from the house porch. 

 

“We’re going to beat them today!” Henry was looking better, calmer than before his whole ordeal had happened. He was also not wearing armor, for which Carol was extremely grateful . Apparently, the kid did seem to learn from his mistakes. 

 

“We are.”

 

“And when we do, would you come back to the Kingdom?” The hope in Henry’s tone made Carol’s eyes sting with tears she was not going to shed, it was the hope of the young who although had seen too much, still believed. Carl had had that type of hope. “I promise I won’t run away again.”

 

“You better not, you little rascal!” Henry giggled as Carol threw an arm around his shoulders pulling him close. The feel of his small body next to hers brought a sudden feeling of loss she hadn’t felt in some time, because even with Lizzie and Mika, she hadn’t allowed this closeness. The last kid she had let in this way had been Carl, his loss still too recent for her dwell on it. Especially just before such an important battle. 

 

Henry’s chatter was easy to block as they walked towards were Michonne and Maggie were already gathered around the map Gregory had brought before. Thankfully, Henry didn’t bring up her move to the Kingdom once again, leaving as soon as she was greeted by the other women. 

 

“Seems like you got yourself an admirer,” Michonne said, smiling softly as they watched the young boy leave carrying his staff as he always seemed to do nowadays. “Daryl might get jealous.”

 

Rosita snorted, having arrived just in time to hear the last sentence out of Michonne’s mouth. “Might? If his eyes were lasers that king of yours,” she motioned with her head towards were Ezekiel and Jerry were saying their goodbyes to Henry, “would have been dead already.”

 

“He’s not  _ my  _ king,” Carol mumbled, giving Rosita a look as the rest of their family, of the core group which was running the operation - which were Rick and Daryl - finally joined them around the open map. 

 

“So, just like we talked about last night,” Rick said as he leaned over the map to open it up completely. 

 

“We'll stick to this road, keep to the trees, we'll get there quicker. Plus, we can keep an eye on the road that way.” Daryl had moved so he was standing right across Carol, his eyes searching hers for confirmation.

“That way if they’re planning anything, we’ll see it,” Rosita agreed, crossing her arms as she looked at the people gathered. What was left of their family - sans Tara - was standing right there planning the battle of their lives. 

 

“Do you think we can trust Gregory? What he told us?”

 

Daryl scoffed, shaking his head at Michonne’s questions. He wouldn’t trust the man as far as he could throw him. 

 

“I locked him up inside the house,” Maggie explained ignoring Daryl’s reaction. “He knew I wouldn't let him walk around free. He knew he was coming back to that.” She turned to look at Rick and Carol, ignoring Daryl’s and Rosita’s tense postures completely. “He doesn't believe in anything except himself, and he'd have to believe in the Saviors a whole lot to send us into a trap and think it would work out for him.”

 

“Unless Dwight didn’t tell him. That asshole could be setting all of us up.” Daryl couldn’t bear to look at Carol as he spoke about the man who had basically tortured him while he was at the sanctuary. The mere idea of her knowing how weak he had been made to feel, of how weak he had been - allowing Negan and Dwight to treat him no better than a street mutt - made his stomach churn.    
  
Rick sighed, taking the map of the table and folding it. His response to Daryl’s claims being forgotten as Morgan stalked past them, his head clearly miles away as he marched down towards the gate. Everyone watched in confusion as Carol trotted away, trying to catch up with the clearly unbalanced man. 

 

“He’s gonna hurt her,” Daryl murmured before he too started walking towards were Carol was now trying to calm Morgan down, her efforts not helping the other man at all. It wasn’t until Henry moved to stop Morgan that they all reacted, Carol being the only one close enough to grab onto Morgan’s staff as hard as she could. 

 

“Fuck,” Daryl murmured as he moved slowly to stand slightly in front of Carol and the kid as Morgan muttered his reasoning for almost skewering the preteen. 

 

“Let’s roll out!” Rick said breaking the standoff. “First group leaves in twenty.”

 

“You okay?” Daryl asked softly as he turned to look at Carol, trying not to notice how she had pulled the boy behind her in a manner he had seen her do in the early days. The boy’s freckled face sending him back to another scared freckled face looking up at him from behind her mama’s back. And it hurt. 

 

“Yeah, we’re good.” Henry nodded behind her, looking at Daryl as if it was the first time he was seeing him ever. The kids eyes on him making Daryl shift on his feet nervously. “Go, finish getting ready. It’s almost time to go.”

 

Daryl nodded, turning around and starting to walk back towards where he had left all his shit. Every couple of steps he couldn’t help but look over his shoulder where Carol and Henry were slowly making their way back to the house. He had heard all about how Carol had left the Hilltop while he had been out scouting with Rosita to look for the missing kid. 

 

The idea of her going through all of it on her own made his head - and chest - hurt. Yet another way he had let her down, he hadn’t been there for her when she’d needed him and then he’d wondered why she had pulled away. When he had seen her a few weeks ago, arriving at Alexandria like an angel of death coming down from the heavens to help them drive the Saviors away, his heart had skipped a beat. 

 

He hated being apart from his family, he hated how it seemed whatever was left of it was now scattered around the communities with no chance of coming back to live under one roof. Maggie had settled as the leader of the Hilltop, and Rick had never done well in a position where he wasn’t the leader so there was no way he was going to stay and not be the top dog. 

 

And there was Carol. Carol who seemed to have found people who appreciated how incredible she was in the men of the Kingdom. Ezekiel offered her what Rick had long stopped doing, he was offering a place where she felt wanted. And he knew her, Daryl knew she hadn’t felt wanted since Rick had banished her all those months ago. She had stayed because she cared for them, but if he was honest, nothing had been the same after the prison. 

 

They hadn’t been the same after the prison. 

 

The Kingdom also came with Jerry, who seemed to be the one person who could make Carol smile even during the darkest times. And Henry. She might not accept it, but the kid had a part of her heart and she was not going to want to leave him behind. Especially for a family which was short with their love and appreciation. 

 

They might have thought he wouldn’t notice, but he had. Everyone but him had seemed to pull away from Carol since she’d come back to them, everyone but him and the people from the Kingdom. Why on earth would she want to go back to a group of people who hadn’t even taken the time to ask why she had left in the first place? 

 

Daryl had once told Rick it wasn’t over after the other man told him about Carol’s banishment months ago, things had happened too fast afterwards for them to ever bring it up again but maybe he should have. Maybe it was yet another way Daryl had failed his best friend by not forcing their family to face what had happened head first. 

 

“Hey, ready?” Carol’s voice coming from his right brought Daryl out of his own head, only for him to realize he had finished getting all his things together in automatic. 

 

“Yeah,” he answered as they both started walking towards the gates where the rest of their party was gathering. 

 

There was something still bothering him, the whole thing seemingly too easy for it to be real. They hadn’t had it easy, not since the world had ended … and to get a break like this one? To practically have Negan handed over on a silver platter? He was still not believing it. 

 

The bad feeling in his gut grew as Rick called Maggie on the walkie to explain the next part of their plan once they had already gotten rid of what had apparently been the trap expecting them.

 

“You look fidgety,” Carol said as she gave him a little smile as they walked in the middle of their group. 

 

“Doesn’t feel right.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

Daryl shrugged. “Dunno, just nervous I guess.”

 

“Seems like Jesus is getting through to him,” Carol said motioning with her head towards where Morgan and Jesus were talking in front of him. 

 

“Man’s head ain’t screwed on right,” Daryl muttered eyeing Morgan as they continued walking uphill. “Hasn’t been for a long time.” 

 

“The same could be said about all of us.”

 

Daryl shrugged, watching as Carol walked a little faster to catch up to Morgan once Jesus had moved further ahead. Carol was right in a way, none of them were alright in the head. Especially himself. But Morgan made him nervous, especially after what had happened before they’d left the Hilltop. It was a bad moment when a man couldn’t recognize friend from foe. 

 

The moment they stopped to look at the massive heard down the valley, Daryl felt immediately as Carol moved back to her usual position at his side. It was probably something she didn’t even realize she tended to do … but it was something he noticed every single time. They had always had one another’s  backs, and whenever they ended up apart, his world always crumbled to dust. 

 

“How much further?” 

 

“We grow closer. Yonder, over the ridge,” Ezekiel answered Daryl’s question, prompting everyone to continue on their climb. 

 

“Yonder? What the fuck is yonder,” Daryl muttered only for Carol’s ears, trying not to smile when he heard her laugh softly. “Why can’t he just fucking talk like a normal person?”

 

“He’s faking it until he makes it.”

 

Daryl’s snort made Jerry turn to look at them, making the two hurry their pace along to avoid it. “Is he good? To you?”

 

“He’s good to everyone, he’s just trying to survive like we all are.”

 

“Are you going to go back with them?” Carol hadn’t even noticed the two of them had stopped, looking at each other as if they were the only two people in the world for just that moment. 

 

“Daryl!” Rick barked from the front where he was leading, the order clear in his tone, not allowing him to do anything but to follow, breaking their moment, and making it impossible for either of them to make sense of what they were feeling right then. 

 

Carol watched with sadness as Daryl tensed and stalked to where Rick was now pushing them forward between the two hills. Daryl at his side like a guard dog - certainly called to him as one - ready to be let loose as soon as the danger was located. 

 

She had been told about what had happened during the night Abraham and Glenn had been killed. Moments recounted by traumatized people who were trying to both forget what they had been through and remember who had done it to them. 

 

They had left out the whistling. As the sound reached their ears, the part of their family who had been there that night immediately knew what was happening. The tension in the air, their quickness to raise their weapons, the way they frantically looked for a target - not caring if they were pointing at their own people even for a millisecond too long - was telling. 

 

The voice on the megaphone was even more so. 

Carol had ended up towards the middle of the group, far behind all of her family. Too far from where her place really was … watching Daryl’s back. 

 

“Well, damn, Rick, look at that. Pegged again. Pegged so very hard.” Carol had never heard Negan’s voice, she had never been in his presence. But just from the voice alone, from the words he was using to taunt their leader, she knew exactly what type of man he was. 

 

They were fucked. Negan had the high ground, all around them. And as he congratulated himself about ambushing them, Daryl couldn’t help but rage inside. He had known there was something wrong with the whole plan, but he had stayed quiet. He had allowed himself to be pulled away from Carol’s side and now there was no way either of them were going to have a chance to get out of this alive. 

 

“How ‘bout you step up and face us?!” Rick sounded half mad as he looked around, pointing his rifle everywhere and anywhere. 

 

“Oh, I am everywhere, Rick. Some more bullhorns, more walkies. Pick a direction to run. See how you do. Make it fun for all of us.” 

 

Daryl gritted his teeth, his injured shoulder hurting with how much pressure he was putting on it from his rifle. Negan liked to play with his victims, and that was what he was doing with them. He was toying with his food before sinking his fangs into them and draining them dry. 

 

“Guess what else I did. I brought you some of your old friends. You remember your old buddy Eugene?” Fucking Eugene, he had run back to his fucking sugar daddy and now they were going to die because they had been too stupid and too noble not to kill the son of a bitch when they first found out he was a lying pussy. “Well, he  _ is  _ the person that made today possible. Same goes for Dwighty boy here.”

 

Daryl felt like shooting himself in the head as he heard Negan mention Dwight through the megaphone. 

 

“In case you were wondering, he didn't ream you on purpose. No, he is just a ... a gutless nothin' that sucks at life, and now he gets to stand up here and watch you all die, and he's gonna live with that.” 

 

Well … at least there was that. He had been wrong about Dwight, but it didn’t change anything … they were going to die, and all because they were too stupid to believe they could get away with trusting their enemy. 

 

“Gabriel, well ... he's got to go, too. We are cleaning house today, Rick. It never had to be a fight. You just had to accept how things are.” 

 

Rick was panicking by his side, they all were. The feeling of imminent doom falling upon them as they all heard Negan drawl on and on about his plans, knowing they were surrounded with them having the higher ground. 

 

“But wait,” Negan said after a beat, the smile clear in his voice even if he wasn’t in a position where they could actually see him. “I have a better idea, to spice things up a little bit … I’m going to call out a few of you, once I do you’re going to drop your weapons and walk halfway up this beautiful hill, then we’re going to kill you. If you do that, and you don’t kick up a fuss … I might show my merciful side to the rest of your followers, Ricky boy, and allow them a two minute head start before we hunt them down like the treacherous dogs they are.”

 

“Ricky! You’re the first one up!” Rick took a deep breath where he was standing beside Daryl, closing his eyes for a moment before throwing his rifle to the ground. 

 

Negan walked to the edge of the hill, the smile clear on his face as he watched Rick start walking with his hands up. 

 

“That’s good, now get on your knees and turn around so your people can watch as your head is blown to pieces.” 

 

“Michonne! Take your place beside your man, if you will.”

 

“My feral kitten! My Daryl! I’m so sad to see you go … but you’ve cost me too much to keep you alive, kitten!” Daryl felt tears of impotence sting his eyes, as he threw his rifle aside and followed Michonne’s path up the hill. His chest heaving as he dropped to his knees, his eyes searching for Carol’s tearful gaze. He had never wanted her to know what had happened, how he had been Negan’s bitch. But for those two minutes? For the chance she might get out of it … he would beg to the monster lining them up for slaughter. 

 

Jesus, Ezekiel, Rosita, and Maggie. They were all called up to kneel and wait for Negan to choose to end their lives, just for a chance their people could have some time to escape. 

 

“Are you really this gullible?” Negan laughed through the megaphone as the sound of a pistol cocking could be heard through it. “I have your balls in my hand, and my dick down your throat as It should have been since the beginning.” 

 

Daryl’s eyes didn’t move from Carol’s. He could see her finger reaching to the trigger, ready to try and take a shot towards the megalomaniac standing yards behind them. “Don’t do it,” he murmured under his breath, knowing she was too far away to hear him but not caring. “Please don’t.”

 

“So ... here we go. Congratulations, Rick!” Daryl shook his head as he looked at Carol, his hands trembling at his sides as he tried to convey everything they’d left unsaid from half a field away. 

 

“Three!” 

 

“Negan you said you would give them a chance!”

 

“Two!”

 

“Don’t do it!”

 

“One!” 

 

Daryl’s lids fell closed, hoping the last image of her before his death was that of Carol gazing back at him with what he hoped was love in her bright blue eyes. He couldn’t watch and see her fall; he just couldn’t. 

 

It wasn’t until he was pulled to his feet by Jesus when he realized the sounds around them weren’t of shots being fired … but of them backfiring into the Saviors’ hands and faces. 

 

He could barely stop himself from reaching out and hugging the daylights out of Carol as she pushed his rifle to his chest before rushing up the hill and joining the fight. They were alive, and for the first time since the beginning of this whole thing, they had the upper hand. A real upper hand. 

The end came sooner than expected; with the saviors being without any weapons they really had no chance at all. With their foes unarmed and on their knees, the only thing left was to find Negan. To find him and to kill him. 

 

Rick took care of it though, with everyone arriving just in time to see him slit Negan’s throat from side to side. The boogeyman, the person who had brought so much pain to their family dropping unconscious in a pool of blood. 

 

“Save him,” Rick muttered as he started walking uphill, his eyes unfocused as he walked aimlessly towards Michonne. “Save him.”

 

“No!” Maggie screamed, at the same time Carol grabbed onto Daryl’s wrist keeping him from storming down and finishing what Rick had deemed unnecessary. 

 

“He has to die!” Daryl hissed, looking down at Carol in anger. “He doesn’t get to live.”

 

“He won’t,” Carol murmured soothingly as they both tried to pretend Maggie’s heart wrenching screams weren’t tearing them apart. “He’s already unconscious, we have no supplies … he’s dead already.”

 

Something close to a sob overcame Daryl, just as his knees gave out on him. It was only Carol’s arms around his waist which kept him upright, her touch being what kept him from completely losing it. “He’ll be dead in a couple of minutes, even if Saddiq does whatever is in his power to save him  … he’s dead already.” Daryl couldn’t do anything but nod against the side of her neck, where he had buried his face to hide from onlookers. No one but her had permission to see his tears. 

 

“It’s not over until he’s dead!” Maggie’s continuous screams filled their hearts with pain.  Maggie sagged against Michonne, forcing the other woman to bring both of them to the ground before they collapsed. 

 

“It’s over,” Siddiq mumbled looking up sadly at Maggie, as she sobbed against Michonne. “He’s dead.”

 

“I asked you to save him!” Rick sneered, anger clear on his face. 

 

“Rick!” Michonne called as he took a step closer to where Jerry and Siddiq had been trying to follow his orders. “He’s dead, it’s over.”

 

“He wasn’t supposed to die!” Rick exclaimed. “What we did, what has happened … he was supposed to live to see what we all became! Put your hands down.” He motioned to the former saviors, who warily looked at each other before following his orders. “The way he did things, it’s done. He was supposed to live to see how we all thrived,  _ together _ !” 

 

“His way of doing things it’s over.” Rick stole a look towards were Daryl and Carol who were still standing close together, arms around each other. “And anyone who can't live with that will pay the price, I promise you that.” His gaze moved towards the rest of the group. “And any person here who would live in peace and fairness ... who would find common ground ... this world is yours, by right. We are life. That's death!” he said, pointing towards the herd they could all see on the horizon. “And it's coming for us. Unless we stand together! So go home. Then the work begins. The new world  _ begins _ .”

 

“All this ... All this is just what was. There's gotta be somethin' after.”

 

Slowly people started to scatter as Rick walked back down towards where Negan’s body now lay. 

 

“He’s gone,” Daryl mumbled as he finally took a step away from Carol. “It’s really over.”

 

“It is.”

 

“Carol?” Morgan said softly, making her turn her attention to him. He silently handed her what had been his armor. “It’s for Henry. Could you tell him I’m going to be okay?”

 

“Are you?” Daryl silently watched as Morgan finished removing his armor, a kind of peace they hadn’t seen in the other man in a long time taking over. 

 

“I’m going to try,” Morgan said, giving her a small smile before turning and walking away. “I know I need to be.”

 

After a beat, Daryl joined her again. Taking some of the armor from her hands as they stood there, watching. “You alright?”

 

“I’m going to be. You?”

 

Daryl shrugged. 

 

“You’re going to be alright, Daryl. I know it.”

 

“What makes you so sure of that?”

 

“I know my Pookie.”

 

The chuckle surprised even him. “Keep telling yourself that, lady.”

-.-.-.-

 

Two days. 

 

It had taken her two days before leaving him behind once again. By the time he had come back from sparing Dwight’s life - without Rick’s knowledge - she was gone. 

 

_ Daryl. _

 

_ By the time you get this, I’ll probably be long gone. It’s not that I care about them more than I care about everyone else, it’s just ... the Kingdom needs me. Henry needs someone who has her feet on the ground to survive this crazy world we found ourselves in.  _

 

_ In the end, Rick was right. After he left me behind, he said I would find another group, and I finally did. They don’t know everything I’ve done, and maybe it’s for the best. Even when Rick allowed me back with the group, I could still see their distrust in their eyes, in their actions. Carl was one of the last things tethering me to the group - and Sophia - and with him gone, I just feel like it’s time to say my goodbyes.  _

 

_ It’s not forever, since in this brand new world, we will always be connected. It’s not forever, I’ll be seeing you around whenever you and Rick come for trading, but either way I’m going to miss you.  _

 

_ I tried to wait as long as I could, but they told me you left with Dwight and no one knew when you would be back. Please take care of yourself, talk to someone about what’s going on in that thick head of yours and don’t let it consume you. If there’s someone in this world who deserves peace, that’s you; and I hope you find it by Rick side.  _

 

_ Love. _

_ Carol. _

 

_ Find her _ , he had told Dwight. _ Find her, _ he had muttered as he’d left the broken man crying in the woods.  **_To find her_ ** was all he’d said to Rick when he’d demanded to know where Daryl was going with all his belongings. 

 

He hadn’t gone to find her twice already, he was not going to allow her to escape him a third time around.   

 


End file.
